Twisted Angel
by EbonyShadows
Summary: Eurydice Brunel, Colette Brunel's elder sister, was happy with her life. Sure, she was the 'decoy Chosen', meant to lead assassins and such away from Colette, but that was fine by her. What wasn't fine was what Remiel told them... and the repercussions...
1. Dreamers

_**I don't own TOS, or Namco, or just about anything to do with this story... if I did, you'd know it. maniacal laughter Chance is the only one that is mine and mine alone.**_

And no, those are not my pistachios.

Er... oh yeah. At first glance, I know this probably looks like one of those re-tellings of the basic TOS story with an OC character, but I promise you, just let me get started and you can watch the plot twist to your heart's content. I might even poke some holes in it.

Holes big enough to fly a Rheiard through...

Enough of my insane rambling.

I was dreaming.

Usually an obvious thing, but this dream felt almost real. The one thing that tipped me off was that I was looking at myself.

The girl I was facing appeared to be sixteen or seventeen. I presumed her to be the latter age, because that's how old I thought I was.

Not like I was sure or anything.

Her eyes were the same pale gray as mine. They should have been warm, sparkling with laughter, but hers were cold, like marble. Like me, she had straight black hair; unlike me, her hair was cropped short, just brushing her shoulders. Mine hit mid-thigh when loose.

I lifted my right hand, as though to touch her, and she raised her left hand, mirroring me. "Who are you?" I asked, and she spoke at the same time, the same words.

A shiver ran down my spine. This was me. Not an imitation, not a twin, but me, as though I was looking in a mirror.

But this one was twisted, somehow. A dark mirror.

I reached my hand out further, and our fingers met. There was a flash of light, silver and black, and I was blown backwards, into darkness...

...and back into wakefulness.

I woke with a gasp. What was that?

Sitting up, I looked around me. It was the small, familiar room I'd lived in for just about as long as I could remember, since the day Frank Brunel took a walk in the woods and tripped over a squalling infant clutching an Exsphere and a red ribbon.

Reminded of the first, I put my hand to my throat. The blood-red crystal rested just below the hollow of my throat, mounted on a well-crafted Key Crest. One of my best friends' adopted father, a dwarf named Dirk, had made it for me when I'd started my combat training.

Both mes, in my dream, had had that Exsphere.

My fingers wandered over the familiar carvings on the inhibitor ore, then encountered something unfamiliar. I craned my neck to get a glimpse of it and frowned.

There was a minute crack in my Key Crest.

That was **not** supposed to happen.

But there was nothing I could do about it now. I'd have to talk to Lloyd, later.

I looked out the window. Morning. I woke up at precisely the same time every day; I had been for a while. Cracking my jaws in a wide yawn, I rolled out of bed.

I didn't wear much when I slept; made it easier to get dressed in the morning. I padded across the floor on bare feet, welcoming the solid feel of the wood under my feet. I needed something real, right now. It might have been a dream, but it had shaken me.

From a chest in the corner of the room, I pulled my usual outfit. I had several just like it. Made things predictable. I didn't like to have to think very much in the morning, and I was grateful for my prior planning as I slid into my garments. Typically, I wore long, black pants that were wide but not baggy. When I stood with my legs together, it looked as though I was wearing a skirt. My usual top was also black, a sleeveless, wide-strapped, scoop-necked shirt.

I glanced out the window again, gauging the weather. It was springtime now, so the weather wasn't too cold, or too hot, but the wind was often a right pain. On went the long-sleeved jacket-type thing that wrapped around my waist, or not, as I chose. It was a shimmering, sheer silver that was a lot warmer than it looked.

As I headed out of my room, I swooped up a five-foot-long red ribbon from the trunk, securing it around my neck with the ease of long practice. It hung down my back from the bow in two even lengths. I flipped my hair over it and clattered down the stairs.

Everyone else was already at breakfast. Phaidra, my adopted grandmother, a woman with a kind disposition and a will of iron, was seated at the head of the table, like normal, already eating. To her right was my adopted father, Frank, a nice but bland man who was still inwardly grieving over the death of his wife.

I say 'adopted' because that's what they were. Dirk was Lloyd's real father, regardless of blood, as far as I was concerned. Frank would never be my real father. There was a gap between me and him, between me and Phaidra, and, at the risk of being cliché, it just kept filling up.

The last person at the table was my sister. She was not my sister by blood, but she was closer to me than anyone else. People said she wasn't even Frank's daughter, but the daughter of some angel or other.

Colette turned to me as I slid into the chair beside her. She had blond hair and blue eyes, wore white, and was nearly my opposite in looks. In temperament we were somewhat more similar, though that wasn't saying much. "Morning, Chance," she greeted me.

"Morning Colette, Frank, Phaidra." I nodded at them each in turn. Frank got a warm smile from me.

As I dug into breakfast -- pancakes -- I once again allowed my mind to wander over our relationships.

Frank had gone for a walk in the forest about a year after his wife and Colette's mother, Delia, had died. He was still struggling with grief at that point, not strong enough to let it go.

Then, predictably, he'd heard something wailing in the bushes. Being a curious human, he'd gone to investigate, and found a child, one or two years old. She was screaming for all she was worth, and holding very tightly to a red ribbon and an Exsphere. The ribbon was the same one I was wearing now. It never frayed, never dirtied, and never tore.

You guessed it: the child was me.

Frank brought me home. I think I'd always been more of a daughter to him than Colette was. He loved us both, but... it was strange. Frank had two children, but neither of them were his. According to all religious teachings, Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration, the one who was to save the dying world of Sylvarant, was not in fact his.

It had been Phaidra that insisted on giving me a 'proper' name. If proper means unpronounceable and bedratted annoying, then sure, it was proper. My given name was Eurydice. Frank had helped me choose my nickname: Chance. It stuck.

I don't even remember how we got there any more. It was something to do with gambling, I think.

While I had been mulling over my strange relations, my body had been eating, and by now, I was done. I came back to myself in time to say, "Come on, Colette. Schooltime."

I got to my feet, and my younger sister followed suit. "I'll see you all... later, I guess," Colette said, not sounding very sure of herself.

"Colette, you all right?" I asked from my position at the door. I turned back to face her. "Or am I just missing something?"

"Chance, you forgot?" Frank chuckled. "It's the Day of Prophecy."

"Huh? Oh yeah..." I trailed off. "Are we following through with the decoy plan, then?"

"Yes," Phaidra answered, almost curtly.

The decoy plan was something we'd come up with when I was about thirteen and Colette was twelve. She was the Chosen, and I had reasonably pointed out that the journey to regenerate the world was full of danger. Therefore, for the journey's length, I could travel with her, pretending to be the Chosen and taking care of any assassination or kidnapping attempts. To that end, I was much more extensively combat trained than she was. I could use a bow and arrows, a staff, a short or long sword, daggers, and/or my fists, if need be. I'd also worked with Professor Raine a bit, and I was at the point where I could imbue my arrows with magic. Normally, only those with elven blood could use magic, but Raine had had an idea, and had finally found a willing subject. And the answer was yes: with an infusion of elven blood, I could indeed use magic, albeit a bit weaker than an elf's. The Exsphere did seem to focus the elven blood's strength, at least.

"Hn. Come on then, Colette." I held the door for her as I went out. She caught it behind me, slipping out before letting it slam shut.

The school wasn't that far from our house. We walked in a companionable silence, breaking it only the one time she tripped and I had to help her up.

One of my friends was waiting outside the school. He was short, and no surprises there; Genis Sage, younger brother to Professor Raine Sage, was only twelve. And yet, somehow, he was the smartest person in the school save his sister.

He wasn't human; no one had any illusions about that. Like Raine, Genis was an elf.

An obscenely cheerful elf for this early in the morning. He was waving to us and grinning like the idiot my other best friend was. "Hurry it up, you two!" he called to us.

I couldn't help smiling. "Aw, shaddup, runt!" I shouted back, a teasing note in my over-loud voice. Genis took no offense, as none was intended.

Colette and I reached him, and I reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately. Having encountered this ploy before, Genis ducked out of the way. "Good morning, guys."

"Morning," I yawned, and headed past him, into the school. Colette stayed behind to chat.

I took my usual seat, at the middle of the front row, and rested my elbows on the desk and my head in my hands. I felt strange today. Not nervous, per se; not scared, not excited, not impatient. There was something odd in the air. It was like an itch that you can't reach, like the sunlight that's always just out of reach.

I was jumpy, twitchy, for lack of a better word.

Other students arrived, and then Genis wandered in, plopping himself down in a seat at the far left of the middle row. I turned and smiled. "Colette stayed?"

"Yeah. Waiting for you-know-who," Genis replied, a note of laughter faintly audible in his voice. "Honestly, he's so dense."

"Lloyd Irving, what are we going to do with you?" I sighed. "Poor boy, you can't even see what's right under your own nose."

I was talking about the fact that my sister had a very large and very obvious crush on my other best friend. Lloyd was stubborn, idealistic, idiotically noble, and somewhat lazy, but there was something about him that Colette was drawn to.

Finally, after everyone else, even the tall elf Raine, was present, Colette came in, following a brown-haired boy dressed in red. The admiration that shone in her blue eyes would have felled a Desian at fifty paces.

Colette came to sit next to me, and Lloyd sat beside Genis.

Three minutes into the lesson, Lloyd was asleep. That was a record, even for him.

I tuned out. I was almost as smart as Genis, so I could afford to miss one lesson, and I didn't feel up to concentrating today.

Shortly, Raine woke Lloyd, and sent him to stand at the back of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, the boy was asleep. Again. Raine didn't notice until she tried to ask him a question. With a gusty sigh, the woman shook the boy awake, then filled his hands with two buckets of water.

She'd need more than that to keep Lloyd awake.

I tuned back in about an hour later. Lloyd was sleeping again. Raine was fed up.

"Lloyd Irving, wake up!" she snapped.

He kept sleeping. Thoroughly ticked off at this point, Raine hurled a chalkboard eraser at the boy.

He woke with a start. "Oh! Professor Raine. Eh... uh... is class over?" He sounded very, very hopeful.

Raine's shoulders slumped as she walked away and let out her breath in a wordless hiss. "Never mind. Let's have someone else answer the question."

And back out. Today's lesson wasn't very interesting. Besides, I knew most of what was going on already. I knew just about everything Colette would ever have to know.

I heard Raine say something about today being the Day of Prophecy.

No, really?

Colette stood, to answer a question. I watched her glance back at Lloyd in the midst of her answer, and inwardly laughed. Was it so un-obvious to the boy?

Apparently.

I didn't get a chance to think anything more, though, as a bright flash of white light seared through the classroom.

The feeling that had been nagging at me all day jumped in one direction. A thrill of excitement ran through me, and my heart began to race. In... anticipation?

My heart pounded in my chest. I knew, without doubting, that something was going to happen today. Something big. Something huge, something important, something that would change not just my life, but also those of hundreds, thousands of other people.

And I also knew, in that split second of light, that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

I sat in my chair, stunned, as everyone else began to clamor.

"Settle down!" Raine shouted. As they began to quiet, she repeated, "Settle down. It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?"

Without waiting for a response, Raine walked quickly for the door.

Colette stopped her, crying out, "Professor, wait! I'll go with you!"

I felt compelled to put in my two Gald's worth. "Don't you mean we?"

Regardless, Raine didn't appear to mean to let us come. "No, Colette. Chance. If it is the oracle, the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else."

"Yes, ma'am..." Colette agreed, though she didn't sound happy. She plunked herself back into her seat, and Raine walked out the door.

Shortly, Lloyd put his buckets down, looked around, and headed for the door. Well, wasn't that predictable.

Genis, on the end of his row, simply got up and moved to head Lloyd off. Me, being me and stuck behind other people, hopped up on the desk, dashed across it, and flipped over Lloyd's head to land in front of him, blocking the way.

"Lloyd, where are you going?" Genis inquired, flashing me a look of thanks.

"Don't tell me you're sneaking out," I added, narrowing my eyes.

Lloyd put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, hey, don't hurt me. I'm just curious. I want to find out what really happens to Colette when she receives the oracle. I always hear talk about the Chosen of Regeneration and the Day of Prophecy, but no one ever says what actually takes place."

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat?'" I asked thoughtfully.

He shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

"Uh, Lloyd." Genis cleared his throat. "I must point out that Raine said to stay and study by ourselves. And trust me, the Wrath of Raine is never pretty."

"Aw, she's not that bad," Lloyd protested.

"You've never seen her really angry, Lloyd. I have. Please. Trust me on this."

Lloyd appeared to think for a moment, which was scary in and of itself. Then he said, "How about this: It's research."

I paused. "Research? Oh, okay, then." I turned to walk out the door. Lloyd, grinning foolishly, went to follow.

"Argh... you two," Genis muttered. Louder, he added, "Colette, you wanna help me keep these idiots out of trouble?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, I guess." Smiling almost vacantly, Colette made her way towards us. Lloyd and I had stopped, and watched the Chosen come towards us.

I didn't really have any objections. We were headed to the chapel, and that's where Colette needed to be eventually, anyway. What would it matter if she went on her own instead of without the priests?

That question will never get an answer, I'm afraid.

So away the four of us went, in silence, as seemed appropriate. I've never been too talkative, except when I'm trying to annoy people, and no one else really had anything to talk about.

We made it out into the clearing between several buildings and what I was fairly sure was the north gate, but I wasn't quite positive. I get my directions messed up sometimes.

"There's no one here," Colette observed.

"Chance!" Frank called out, and I saw the man coming out of one of the buildings. "Colette!"

"Frank!" I called back, as Colette cried, "Father!"

He came to us. "The Desians attacked," he said, sounding puzzled and alarmed at the same time. "Thankfully, no one was hurt, but... they passed through the village and headed for the temple."

My mind jumped to conclusions. "Frank, where's Phaidra?"

"Phaidra's in the temple, preparing for the ritual," he replied.

He was calmer than he had a right to be.

"The... temple?" Lloyd stuttered. "But that's where the Desians--"

"The priests are there with her." Frank was obviously trying to be reassuring, but he wasn't doing a great job. I mean, Colette could beat up one of the priests single-handedly. "Now... Colette..."

She shook her head slightly. "I know. I promise. I will fulfill my duty as the Chosen."

Frank smiled at her, and it was a father's love I saw. He went to her, kissing her forehead gently. "Good luck, Colette."

Me he embraced. "Keep her safe, Chance," he murmured, for my ears alone.

"I will," I whispered.

He released me and stepped back. "Lloyd, Genis, you two should go home."

"I'm worried about letting Colette go by herself," Lloyd said hurriedly.

I raised an eyebrow. Well. Maybe she wasn't the only one with a crush.

"So'm I. Good thing she isn't," Genis put in, almost gently.

Lloyd coughed. "Uhm. I'm going with he-- them to the temple."

The young elf shook his head despairingly. "I'm going, too."

"But..." Frank began to protest, then thought better of it. "All right. Thank you. I'll wait at the house. Come back immediately if anything happens."

True to his word, Frank headed off, leaving the four of us alone. Just about as soon as he was out of earshot, I spoke up. "If there are Desians at the temple, we'll need our weapons. Lloyd, you carry those swords with you all the time, so you can go with Genis while he gets his kendama. Colette and I will stop by our house and get weapons, and we'll meet back here." I pointed down at the ground below my feet.

Taking my instructions to heart, Genis grabbed the trailing white ribbons of Lloyd's costume and dragged him off, in the direction of the house he and Raine shared. Colette and I headed in the opposite direction.

When we got into the house, Frank was sitting at the table, trying very hard not to be agitated. He started up out of his seat as soon as he saw us, but I waved a hand at him. "It's okay, we just needed to get weapons."

He sank back into the chair, and I followed Colette up the stairs. She went to the left, and I went right, back into the room I'd left only hours ago.

My favorite weapon, a longbow, was leaning against the wall behind my bed, unstrung. I retrieved it, grabbed one of the coiled strings on the bedside table, bent the bow and strung it. I tested the pull of it experimentally, then tucked a spare string in one of the deep pockets of my pants. From under the bed, I produced a standard quiver. I ran my fingers over it fondly. It was one of the finest pieces of magic I'd ever seen. Raine and Genis had provided the spell's framework, and I'd put in most of the energy and the specs for the arrows.

Okay, so I had slept for nearly a week after, due to exhausting most of my mana, but it had been worth it. The quiver was empty now, but at a word from me it would fill with arrows. It did different kinds, too: normal, barbed, and, my personal favorite, a type of arrow I'd titled 'bladed.' That was because the heads were essentially miniature daggers.

Smiling, I slung the quiver over my shoulder, letting it settle on its own into its accustomed place. I wouldn't fill it yet. Next came the leather guards I wore to protect my wrists from the string's backlash.

I didn't bother slinging the bow across my shoulders, though I would if I was going to be carrying it for too long. Instead, I just held it beside me as I went down the stairs two at a time.

Colette was waiting for me outside the house, a telltale spot of dirt on her knees and a pair of chakrams in her hands. Of course she'd taken less time. She didn't spend a while fawning over her weapons, she just grabbed them and got out. Me, on the other hand, I liked weapons. Someday they were going to save my life, and for that alone, they could have as much of my time as I wanted.

Together, we jogged back to where we were to meet the boys. Lloyd and Genis were already waiting. "Sorry we took so long!" Colette cried.

"Colette, enough with the apologizing. It's my fault," I put in, throwing her an 'oh please' look. "Lloyd, will those wooden things actually cut?"

Smiling almost vindictively, Lloyd drew one, brandishing it. Sunlight glinted off metal.

"Oh... Dirk finally made you real swords, huh?"

The thin smile widened into a real grin, and Lloyd sheathed the blade. "Yeah. Just yesterday, in fact."

I was reminded of something. "Lloyd, I need to talk to you later, when we have time. Can somebody remind me in case I forget?"

"Lloyd'll forget, too," Genis stated. "I'll remind you."

"Thanks." I almost reached for his hair, but resisted the urge, and instead took a few paces toward the gate. I reached it and turned back toward them. "So, you guys coming?"

Everyone's eyes widened simultaneously. "Chance, get down!" Lloyd shouted, springing forward as he unsheathed both swords. I gulped and threw myself to one side.

Lloyd lashed out with one sword at the thing that had come up behind me. It looked like a zombie, and I had no doubt that it had been about to try to kill me.

Genis helped me up, and I thanked him as Lloyd made quick work of the undead thing. I watched it collapse into a pile of dust and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought the northern region where the temple is located was a sanctuary," Genis muttered, half to himself. Lloyd looked clueless, while Colette's face clouded, as though she were trying to remember something.

I, on the other hand, saw fit to offer useful information. "It must be part of the trial."

Colette's face cleared suddenly. "Oh, that's right! Martel's trial involves battling monsters!" The confusion drained out of Lloyd's expression, and Colette changed the subject. "Lloyd, you're amazing!"

He looked somewhat sheepish. "Ah... ehm... I owe it to this thing, really." He moved his right hand slightly, and we all caught the telltale gleam of his Exsphere.

"Ah, that's right." Genis tipped his head slightly. "The Exsphere."

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed. "It's designed for combat. It brings out a person's maximum strength. Without this thing, I'd be nothing." Wow, humility from this guy... that was amazing.

"But you're still strong, Lloyd!" Colette enthused.

Genis looked away, but I could see him struggling not to burst out in laughter. I myself could feel a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. "Yeah..." I managed to say without cracking up. Still with the straight face, I added, "At least your sword skills are good."

Touchy Lloyd flared up. "What do you mean, at least?"

He was too busy to notice the monster creeping up behind him. As fast as I could, I put one hand on the quiver's strap and ordered, "Normal." I felt the weight of it increase, and I put my hand back to retrieve one of the black-fletched arrows, putting it to the bow. I drew the string back in one smooth motion, my fingers trembling against it.

Lloyd went pale. "Chance, what...?"

"Move," I hissed.

He did.

The ghost behind him looked startled to suddenly be faced with a teenaged girl pointing an arrow at it. I didn't give it a chance to move; I cried, "Light!" and released the string.

As I cried out, a white nimbus of light appeared around the head of the arrow. As it plunged into the ghost, it flared up in a blinding flash of light.

The ghost disappeared. So did the arrow.

It was a little while before anyone spoke. When they did, it was Lloyd who broke the silence. "Wow. Uh. Thanks, Chance."

"I knew you'd been working with my sister to add magic to your arrows, but I've never seen it in practice before. That was very... good," Genis finished, for lack of a better word.

"Good job, Chance!" Colette put in, sounding altogether too happy.

Why was my life full of people like that?

I looked around. No more monsters in sight, but...

Drawing a deep breath, I pulled another arrow out and set it to the bow, though I didn't pull it. "We should go, before anything else happens. Desians at the temple, remember."

"Right."

We made it out the gate and to the field. The well-trodden path that lead to the temple lay just to the north, and we followed it. More often than not, monsters didn't come onto the path. We had one narrow brush with a rabid rabbit, but Lloyd speared it before anyone could come to harm.

Halting at the bottom of the steps which tracked up the hill, I looked up. Behind me, so did everyone else. There was a bright white light shining from the top of the building at the peak of the hill. "Whoa, that light really is coming from the temple!" Lloyd exclaimed, sounding awestruck.

"Then... an oracle is going to be conveyed," Genis concluded. "Colette's going to be the Chosen of Regeneration."

"Knock, knock, boys. Haven't we known that for forever?" I wondered, only half in jest.

"Yeah, but it's never seemed so... I don't know..." The younger one was fumbling for words. "So close, so... imminent."

I mulled that over for a minute. "Yeah... I think I get what you mean."

Colette was still looking up at the light. Now she covered her eyes. "It's really, really bright," she said finally.

I put one hand to my forehead, almost despairingly. "Colette..."

"Say, Colette," Lloyd said simultaneously, and I let him do the talking. He might have a better chance of convincing her. "When the oracle is conveyed, you'll become the Chosen who'll save the world, right? You're gonna be like the hero, Mithos. So maybe you should act a little more... you know, Chosen-like."

Colette thought about this for a few moments, then smiled winningly. "Yeah! No problem! None at all!"

I tapped a foot impatiently, and was about to say something, but sounds reached my ears. Combat-noises, I thought. "Anyone else hear that?" I questioned.

They hushed up. "You're right," Genis said. "There's a lot of commotion up there."

"We should see what's going on," I suggested, starting up the uneven stairs.

Various sounds of assent came from behind me, but I was four stairs up before Lloyd, Colette, and Genis caught up to me. Regardless of everyone's various speeds, we came to the top at the same time.

Phaidra was backed up against the temple door. The bodies of two of the priests lay slightly in front of her. Colette pressed her hands over her mouth.

The old woman was being menaced by a large, black-haired Desian commander, flanked by four smaller but no less menacing goons. "Where is the Chosen?" demanded the commander.

Then Phaidra caught sight of us over his shoulder. "Run, Colette!" she cried.

Great, Phaidra. Do you think you could not have pointed us out to them? Just maybe?

Maybe not.

One of the goons turned. His face was mostly obscured by a steel helmet.

I felt cold, detached. I could kill these men if I had to, I suddenly knew that.

And that alarmed me.

"Lord Botta! There she is!" the turned henchman exclaimed.

Everyone else followed suit and turned to face us. A grim grin spread across Botta's face. "Chosen One, your life is mine!" he snapped.

Colette made to step forward, but I held her back with my free hand. With the other, I dropped the currently nocked arrow and touched my fingers to the quiver. "Empty," I instructed, and as it did, I said, "Bladed."

The quiver filled again, and I turned my attention to Colette. "Colette, stay back."

She nodded mutely.

Lloyd had other plans. His swords appeared in his hands. "I won't let you Desians get away with anything!"

The talkative henchman laughed. "Desians?"

Genis didn't find it that funny. "What's so funny?"

The other just snorted. "Well, then, die at the hands of the Desians you so hate. Get them!"

Two of the soldiers came at us, and it was time to fight.

The swordsman on our side went for one of them, easily slipping under his guard to stab through his thin leather armor to his heart. I, on the other hand, set a bladed arrow to the bow, drew, and loosed. The arrow buried itself in the other's throat. Lloyd came back to us. "Wanna run that by me again?" I asked, almost cockily. Almost immediately after, I wondered what the heck was wrong with me. I felt somehow... happy. Satisfied. I'd just taken two lives, and I felt no semblance of remorse or regret.

Botta just looked thoughtful. "Vidarr, get them," he finally said.

From around the corner, where we hadn't seen him, a large Desian stomped up. He was brandishing an axe and a mace, and I figured this was the executioner type they kept around the place, to both scare and kill people.

Oh boy.

We got to fight him.

Lloyd charged in like Lloyd always does, swords swinging wildly. He narrowly ducked a swing of the mace, but it sent one of his slashes awry. At the same time, a chakram whizzed past me and looped around Vidarr, grazing his shoulder, and Genis' voice began to mumble an incantation.

As my friends attacked, so did I. I drew an arrow from the quiver and sent it flying at the hulking warrior. It thunked into his shoulder even as I nocked another, observing with some rational part of my mind that the un-magicked arrows didn't seem to affect him much. As I let this one go, I called out, "Fire!" A red glow shone around the arrow, bursting into flames as it thudded into place beside the other.

That one did faze him. He dropped the mace, giving Lloyd an opportunity to prick him with one sword.

However, it also made him mad. As Colette ran in close, Vidarr swept the wounded arm around him, throwing the two of them back. Colette slammed into me, knocking us both to the ground. I was winded, and she probably was.

Luckily, I'd had the thought to hold my bow out to the side so it didn't get broken. I croaked, "Empty," touching the quiver with my hand, and I fell all the way back, unsupported by the bundle of arrows.

Lloyd had similarly crashed into Genis. Vidarr had better aim than I'd thought.

Oh, we were so screwed. None of us was getting up in time, and Vidarr was looming over me and Colette, raising the axe over his head.

I closed my eyes and thought really, really hard about something else.

_I'm not sure how much everyone's gonna hate me for ending it here... but I have the feeling it's a lot. Erk. It's not my fault I'm so long-winded!_

But could you review? Pretty please? bats eyelashes  



	2. Remiel

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia, it's so sad… -sniffle- But I can write about it. So there.**

_Shadowlover01: Okay then. Here._

_RoyalFanatic: How about the puppy eyes? Eh, maybe not. And I hope this answers your other question._

_Note: I just realized that I forgot to kill that one priest. Well, too bad. Ehm... the Desians killed him before he could get down the stairs. Yeah._

Chapter 2: Remiel

Death never came. In fact, it stopped several feet away with a clash of metal.

I cracked one eye open, then both.

Between Vidarr and the four of us was a man with auburn hair, dressed entirely in purple. His sword was blocking the axe.

I managed to sort myself out and stood, already saying "Normal," and drawing another arrow. "Who are you?" I demanded.

He pushed with the sword, throwing the gigantic Desian back and off-balance. This gave him enough time to look over his shoulder at me and snap, "Get out of the way."

"Fat chance," I hissed, launching the arrow at Vidarr. This one just grazed the side of his neck, and I cursed silently as I set another arrow.

The new warrior wasn't giving me an opening, though, instead preferring to just block every shot I might have. Colette and Genis were effectively barred, too, so it was left to Lloyd to regain his feet and attack with the newcomer.

The men weren't giving the long-range fighters a chance. I pursed my lips, tempted to whistle as I watched the unnamed person disarm Vidarr, but I decided against. Instead, I emptied the quiver and slung the bow over my shoulder as the collection of muscles collapsed in a very dead heap.

"Damn..." the commander hissed. "I never thought you'd show up. Retreat for now!"

And he proceeded to do so, pushing past us and running down the stairs. The foot soldiers followed quickly, and we were left alone.

I eyed the three corpses speculatively. "We're going to have to move those. They'll start to stink if we leave them there."

"Always practical," Genis chuckled.

The purple-garbed swordsman sheathed the sword and looked us over. "Good... no one seems to be hurt," he said, almost to himself.

Phaidra stepped forward. "How can we ever thank you for saving the Chosen?"

I was about to protest, but thought better of it. If not for him, we'd all be so much meat right now.

He glanced briefly at her, then surveyed us once more. "I see... so... ah..."

Colette watched his puzzlings with her head tipped to one side in her typical manner. It took me a little while to figure out what he was attempting to find out. I caught his eyes as they flickered between me and Colette, and I twitched my head toward her ever so slightly. He'd saved us; it was safe, right?

"So, this girl is the next Chosen," he finished, directing his attentions to Colette now.

Suddenly reminded of her office, Colette burst out, "That's right! I have to go accept the oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now."

"...What trial?" Lloyd asked suspiciously, before anyone else could say anything.

I swear, I wanted to slap that boy. "Lloyd. Martel's trial. The one we talked about less than half an hour ago. Ringing any bells?"

He shook his head mutely, and I clapped one hand to my forehead. "Aagh... I give up. Monsters, Lloyd. Monsters."

"There... is an evil presence radiating from inside the temple," the stranger agreed.

"Yes," Phaidra said. "The priests were to accompany Colette, but..." She waved her hand slightly in front of her, taking in the bodies of the two priests that lay there, as well as the Desian corpses. "Well."

"Phaidra, I'm going with Colette. I can protect her just fine," I put in.

"But, Eurydice? Just you?" The old woman still looked uneasy. "You are skilled with your bow, but you are just one person..."

I hmphed. "Colette's not exactly helpless either, y'know."

Phaidra had no response. The as-yet-unnamed warrior looked at me strangely. "Your name is Eurydice?"

"Kinda." I gave him that one enigmatic statement to puzzle over, then followed it up with, "Who're you, anyway?"

He looked kinda surprised for a moment, like we should have known or something, but answered my question anyway. "My name is Kratos. I am a mercenary."

This caught Phaidra's attention. "Mercenary?"

Kratos nodded. "As long as you can pay me, I can accept the job of protecting the Chosen."

Argh. I'd known him all of three minutes, and this guy was already getting on my nerves... and for almost no concrete reason, at that. I could protect Colette just fine. I didn't need help. I didn't need interference, either, for that matter.

If Phaidra said yes, I wasn't sure my sanity would survive the trial.

As I thought this, Phaidra decided, "Under the circumstances, I have little choice. Please be of service."

Yep. I was **so** doomed. Good-bye, sanity.

"It's a deal, then," Kratos said solemnly.

No. Please. Save me. "Um. Can we take Lloyd and Genis with us? Please?" I asked hopefully. Maybe I could keep them between me and Kratos...

Kratos shook his head. "They'll only get in the way," he replied, a disapproving note clearly evident in his voice. "It's enough that you must come."

At this point I actually had to grab my right hand to stop it from trying to deck the auburn-haired mercenary. "Listen, mister, I can take care of myself, and Colette besides. If Vidarr hadn't had a large measure of luck, we'd never have been in that mess to begin with. We need no self-centered, egotistical mercenary to protect us."

"Yes, but you were in that mess," he countered. "And the fact remains that I save all your lives. And you cannot always count on your enemies being unlucky, or, at least, no more lucky than you."

I scowled at him, trying to think of an appropriate comeback. I settled for the traditional "Shut up."

He smirked. My violent right hand crept to my bow, and I was forced to restrain it yet again. Martel, I hated this guy already.

Phaidra cleared her throat. "So... are you going, then?"

"Only if Lloyd and Genis are coming," I said instantly.

"Um, Chance should really come with us," Colette said hesitantly. "So that means... uh... Lloyd and Genis have to come too."

The mercenary sighed. "Do as you wish."

"I will!" I chirped, beckoning to the boys. Genis looked uncertain, while Lloyd immediately stepped forward, to Colette's side.

Phaidra moved aside, pushing the temple doors open. With a slight nod of thanks to her grandmother, Colette walked nonchalantly in. I could have sworn I heard her whistle. Lloyd followed closely behind her, while Kratos was forced to settle for third place. I was about to walk after them when it occurred to me that Genis wasn't following. "Genis-- come on."

I looked back. He wasn't moving.

Yes, I had to go back there and drag him in with me. He protested very quietly all the way.

Once inside, we joined Colette, Lloyd, and Kratos in the center of the main chamber. It was large, dark, and altogether very not interesting. Three paths lead away. To the left, I could see, well, nothing. It was a dead end, hooray for it. Straight ahead of us, there was a glowing force field. As Genis and Colette looked around and Lloyd and Kratos yattered on about sword skills, I walked the fifteen steps between me and it and touched it.

Well, it didn't shock me, or throw me back, and as far as I was concerned, this was a good thing. It didn't, however, let me through, and that wasn't great. Through the shiny blue-glowy thing, I could see a circle on the ground, probably a Warp circle. Not that they came in any other shapes.

So, we probably had to get to the Warp. But how?

"Colette, any ideas how to get through?" I asked, turning back to her.

She blinked several times, obviously deep in thought as she scrutinized the force field. "Ummmm... no. Sorry."

"Crap. Genis, I don't suppose you--"

"Nope, sorry Chance," he replied before I could even finish my question.

"You could let me finish!" I snapped. Someday I was going to have to hurt him.

"I suggest we explore the rest of the temple," Kratos suggested evenly. "Perhaps a solution will make itself known."

I couldn't argue with that, no matter how much I wanted to. With a theatrical sigh, I headed for the final passageway, the one that lead to the right. "Okay then. Let's not just sit here all day. I, for one, want lunch eventually."

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Colette asked plaintively, running to catch up to me. I slowed a bit. "I mean, it's so exciting and all--"

"Maybe 'cause I'm not the Chosen," I interrupted. Heavy footsteps from behind me told me that at least the swordsmen were following, so I had no need to look back. Genis could follow or not.

We skirted around a threatening blob of jelly and found a set of stairs, leading down. I stood and looked down them for a minute; I couldn't see the other end. Then, as everyone else caught up, I started down them.

It wasn't too long before I reached the bottom, but by that time, I was tired of stairs. We came out onto a large platform, suspended apparently in midair. It was clear, with various patterns etched into it. Immediately after he set foot on it, Genis noticed something. "Look, there's something glowing!"

I pointed my gaze in the direction of his finger. It was aimed at a glowing red light down and to one side. I estimated it was directly below the Warp. It was also below our current position.

I walked further out onto the glass platform, hoping beyond hope that it wouldn't break. It didn't, lucky for me. Unlucky for me, I walked right into a large rock thing.

The rock wasn't exactly inanimate. It made threatening lurches towards me and the rest of the group. I ducked a swing from one of its clumsy fists and overbalanced, falling smack in the center of one of the squares etched on the surface of the glass--

--and falling through. There's HOLES in the floor? Oh, whose brilliant idea was THAT?

Luckily, there was something down below. I landed on a rocky path that did appear to be floating in the middle of nothingness. I wasn't too sure, but I was guessing that falling off wouldn't be the best idea.

I looked back up. My friends, sister, and antagonist were busy pounding on the rock, which turned into a stone block. Okay, that was... logical.

Colette looked over the hole's edge, peering down at me. "Chance, are you all right?" she called.

"Fine, just fine!" I called back to her. "You?"

"Fine. That monster just turned into a rock!" She giggled happily.

"It was kinda a rock to begin with," Lloyd pointed out, leaning over as well. "Yo, Chance. Anything interesting down there?"

I looked around. Well. There were holes in the path. Most of the cut-off pieces were just pointless, going nowhere, but across the biggest gap was a set of stairs that lead up to the glowy thing. "Uh, yeah, actually, now that you mention it. There's a way to the glowy thing Genis saw. Only problem is, there's a hole in the path."

"Hmm." Colette got up and began to pace around the block. Lloyd watched her with some degree of bemusement.

Then, as predicted, she tripped.

What I didn't predict was that she'd trip into the rock, shoving it through the hole I'd fallen through. I flung myself out of the way as it landed where I'd been standing moments before.

Scowling, I climbed on top of it and shouted up, "Oi, what's the big idea? Trying to smush me?"

"I'm sorry!" Colette wailed. "I tripped! Oh, I'm sorry!"

My shoulders slumped. "Argh." I sat down, cross-legged, on the rock, and looked at it. It was nearly the exact same width as the path. "So what do I do with this thing?"

Now Genis looked over. "I don't know. Want me to come down and help analyze the situation?"

I hopped off the rock, putting it between me and the glowy thing. "Uh, not really..." Too late. Genis was already preparing to toss himself down. With a wicked grin, I shoved the rock away, out from the place he was probably going to land. It kept going, sliding impressively quickly along the rough stone path. It stopped at the gap, falling into the nothingness and bridging half the hole in the path.

Genis had landed and gotten to his feet, watching the rock go. We exchanged glances. "Aha," he said smugly, glancing up. "Look."

I looked. Another golem-thing had appeared. Kratos was busy trying to kill it.

...How do you manage to kill a rock? It's a ROCK, for Martel's sake. Stone. A geological formation. How can you kill it if it's not alive?

Nevertheless, the cube shortly thumped down in front of me and Genis, and we shoved it in the same direction as the first one. It fell off the edge and finished the path.

The other three took the stairs on the other side of the platform, the ones that lead down to the path. Whistling happily, I crossed the makeshift bridge and trotted up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, on a glowing white table, was a pair of silver rings with red stones. "Um, what're these?" Lloyd asked.

"Are these the Sorcerer's Rings?" Genis wondered. "I've heard about them. They're supposed to be holy artifacts of the Church of Martel."

Kratos looked interested, for once. "With these, we should be able to deal with most traps and obstacles."

"Wow, let me try it!" Lloyd cried happily.

"Ohh..." I slapped a hand to my head. This boy was easily amused and easily bored.

Genis took the words right out of my mind. "You're like a little kid."

Nevertheless, Lloyd took one ring, sliding it onto his finger. I had an evil idea, and grabbed Colette's hand and the other ring, slipping it on her finger. She looked at it blankly for a minute.

The pieces of the puzzle connected in my mind, and I slammed my hands together happily. "Aha! Let's go get rid of that force field!" I said happily. "This should do it, right?"

"Indeed," Kratos grated out.

Lloyd waved his Ring in the air. A ball of fire shot out of it, and I watched it make a pretty scorchmark on the wall. He gaped at it, then waved his hand again. Another ball of fire shot out, but at a different point in the wave; I ducked as the ball went over my head. What was it with people and trying to kill me today?

Before Lloyd could do anything else, I caught his hand. "Okay. Let's not wait for Lloyd to burn us all to a crisp, but let's go get that oracle, hn?"

"Okay!" Colette enthused. "She's right, Lloyd. You should be more careful."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, not sounding too happy about it.

Back along the path, up the stairs, over the holey glass, up **more** stairs, avoid the monsters, look at the pretty force field. It was rather pretty, actually, all a swirly blue. Then Lloyd had to go and shoot fire at it, and it disappeared in a flash of blue light.

We stared at the circle of purple beyond it. "Um," Genis said finally, "how do these work?"

"I would assume you just stand on it for a certain period of time," Kratos offered.

"Let's try that, then!" decided Colette. She walked over and stood on it. About three seconds after, she faded out. Lloyd started.

"Oh good," I said happily, and followed suit.

From all appearances, you'd think Warps wouldn't be fun, right? Oh, they're hilarious. You get all stretched out, and if you try to talk in transit, it comes out really high-pitched. Yes, I tried this.

Stepping off the circle on the other side, I looked around the room. There was an altar in the middle of the room, with a glowing red crystal on it. Above, there was a hole in the ceiling, as a skylight. Windows lined the room, as well as torches; it would never be dark in here.

"This must be the top floor," I heard Kratos remark from behind me. The others had evidently decided to come through as well.

Colette nodded. She was looking at the crystal. "Yes, and that's the altar." She motioned at the, well, altar.

"Then that shiny thing must be the Cruxis Crystal!" Genis exclaimed excitedly.

"That's right," Colette confirmed. "It's said I was born with that in my hand."

I looked at it more closely. It was the color of fresh-spilled blood, never a good comparison. I didn't like it.

A beam of light shone through the roof, and a blond man dressed in green floated down and into the room, hovering over the altar. White, feathered wings extended from his back.

No one said anything until he did. "I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment. I have come to guide Colette, daughter of the Mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen."

Oh. Martel. Somebody. Save me. This guy was so dry and boring. He was an angel, but his voice was monotonous and non-melodious. I thought angels were supposed to have heavenly voices.

And I didn't like him. I flashed back on that strange feeling I'd gotten when the light flashed through our classroom, that there was something horribly wrong. I was getting that feeling again now, as I looked at Remiel.

Okay, what the heck? I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it. It was my imagination. It must be. Remiel had come to guide Colette on her journey to save Sylvarant.

I focused on Colette instead of Remiel. The Cruxis Crystal had become attached to her throat, in the same place my Exsphere was. Hers had developed a pretty gold mounting. I brushed my hand across my Exsphere, thinking again. It looked very similar to her Cruxis Crystal, actually.

A stray beam of light from Remiel's angelic glory shone on my Exsphere, making it come alive with bloody flames. I watched the pretty lights play across my hands and clothes, mesmerised. I didn't notice that everyone else was really, really quiet.

Remiel was looking at me like I'd just grown wings. Or, maybe he was looking at Kratos...? I took one step to the right, and his gaze followed me. Nope, scratch that. What in the...?

"You..." he began. I couldn't identify the emotion I heard in his voice. "How did you-- what is-- how in the--?"

I frowned, meeting the puzzled blue gaze. "I was found with it, Lord Remiel. It's my Exsphere."

He shook his head emphatically. "No, no it's not. That's a Cruxis Crystal!"

"There's... more than one?" Colette inquired.

Remiel shook his head again, more slowly. "Apparently... but how can this be? I've never known this to happen..."

This was one confused angel. I wasn't sure if I liked where this was going, though. If my Exsphere was a Cruxis Crystal, what did that mean for me?

Coming out of his thoughts, Remiel announced, "It must be fate. A long-lost daughter of the Mana lineage has been found, and thus she shall undertake the journey as well."

Oh. Crap. No. Bad. I signed up to be the decoy, not the actual Chosen of Regeneration! That's Colette!

I heard someone cough behind me. Sounded like Kratos. Was he allergic to angels or something? I wouldn't blame him...

Colette threw herself at me, hugging me. "I'm so happy!" she squealed. "My sister Eurydice's going to be with me!" Sheesh, she'd been listening to Phaidra too much. Either that, or it was a tactful way of telling Remiel my name, which he should know anyway.

Remiel cleared his throat, and we paid attention to him. "From this moment, Colette and Eurydice become the two Chosens of Regeneration." Oh. Goddess. What kind of crap had I gotten myself into? "We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." He made an expansive gesture toward one window, and all heads turned to look out it. In the distance, a tall, needle-like tower appeared, stretching up as far as I could see. The Tower of Salvation!

"So that's the Tower of Salvation," Lloyd whispered.

"Now the world will be saved!" Genis murmured back, if a bit less quietly.

The angel kept talking, ignoring the comments of the boys. "Colette, Eurydice, Chosens of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands."

Colette started speaking, and I belatedly realized that I was supposed to be saying something. About four seconds behind Colette, I said, "I humbly accept this task." We were going to have to practice doing these things together.

"Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as angels, this eroded world shall be regenerated," Remiel told us. "First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."

"Yes, Lord Remiel," Colette and I said together. I was only one second behind her this time.

Remiel nodded approvingly and started flapping his wings, rising. Colette's eyes widened, and she started forward. "Wait! Please wait!"

He stopped, and Colette, emboldened, continued. "I have a question I wish to ask of you. Are you really my fa--"

Heaven's messenger cut her off. "First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved daughter, Colette."

I nearly choked. So it was true! They did look a bit alike, I supposed. But wait... if I was also of the Mana lineage, was he my uncle or something?

"So you really are my true father!" she exclaimed, sounding both shocked and happy.

"We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter." He smiled at her, and disappeared in a flash of light.

There was silence.

_Oh my Goddess, what the hell did I just get into?_ I was thinking. Probably everyone else was thinking things along the lines of _Two of them_? and such. I'd never known there could be two Chosens.

"I never knew there could be... two Chosens of Regeneration," Genis said softly, breaking the silence and taking the words out of my mind. I wished he'd stop doing that.

"Neither did the rest of us," Kratos pointed out. Which was probably true; I'd never heard of it, and Colette was looking just as confused as I felt.

Oh man. I was still having trouble believing what I'd just heard. I was also to be the Chosen of Regeneration? My Exsphere was a Cruxis Crystal? How could that be?

I'd probably have stood there and thought about it for hours if Colette hadn't grabbed my elbow and gently pulled me toward the Warp. "Chance, we should be getting back," she said, jerking me out of my reverie.

I gently freed my elbow from her grasp as Kratos stepped onto the Warp behind us. Lloyd and Genis were apparently staying for a bit, locked in earnest, low-pitched conversation.

We came back out into the main area of the temple and wasted no time on heading out. Raine came in as we were leaving, chortling happily. Evidently she'd gotten permission to look at the temple, something she'd been wanting to do for years now.

She didn't notice us, which was all the better as far as I was concerned. There would be uncomfortable explanations as to what the heck was going on and why I wasn't back in school.

Phaidra was waiting for us, looking anxious. "Well?" she demanded.

"Everything went just fine," Colette announced, a big smile on her face. "The oracle was conveyed, and the Chosens of Regeneration will ascend the Tower of Salvation to heaven."

Sharp woman that she was, Phaidra didn't miss the emphasis on the plural form of the word 'Chosen.' "Chosens?" she asked. "What do you mean by that, Colette?"

"Uhm." I tried to decide how best to phrase this. "Exactly what she says, I guess," I finally said. "Remiel discovered a long-lost daughter of the Mana lineage and told her to go with Colette, that they would both regenerate the world." Why was I talking in the third person. "Yeah, me. It's this." I tapped the Cruxis Crystal gently. "Apparently it's a Cruxis Crystal."

Phaidra looked back and forth between me and Colette several times, perhaps comparing our Crystals. Finally her jaw dropped open. "You're... oh my... this is..."

"I got nearly the same reaction from everyone else," I said dryly. "Something leads me to believe that this hasn't ever happened before."

"It hasn't," replied Phaidra. "Girls, we should be getting back to the house. Mr. Kratos, if you would care to accompany us?"

He nodded. Man of few words except when it came time to bug Chance. Great.

Nevertheless, a party consisting of one old lady deep in thought, one blond girl who was skipping, one black-haired girl putting as much distance between her and the final member as possible, and one nearly-implacable mercenary made their way back to Iselia.

Frank was waiting for us at the entrance of the house. I guess he got tired of sitting. Upon seeing us, he broke into a relieved smile and ran to greet us. "You're back!" he called happily.

"And Eurydice has some interesting news," Phaidra told him.

He turned his attention to me. "Chance, what..."

I brushed the Cruxis Crystal yet again. "There's two Chosens of Regeneration," I said simply. How many people was I going to have to explain it to?

"Yeah, Chance has a Cruxis Crystal!" Colette said enthusiastically. "And Lord Remiel said we would both regenerate the world!"

Frank was doing nearly exactly what Phaidra had, looking between us frantically. "Oh Goddess," he breathed.

I became aware of the fact that I was very hungry. "Um, do you by any chance have any lunch?"

"So, we will entrust the protection of the Chosens to Kratos and Raine, then," the Mayor concluded. I eyed him balefully as I finished my spaghetti. I didn't like the little guy. He'd invited himself over for lunch and discussed the protection of the Chosens with the family.

Oh, and Kratos stayed for lunch too. I spent my time actively ignoring him.

Lloyd opened the front door, and Genis slipped inside. The taller boy followed him, a bit less gracefully. Phaidra spotted them. "Oh, you're back! Thank you for your assistance earlier! Please, accept this small thanks." From a bookshelf, she pulled an old book, and gave it to Genis.

He thanked her. Lloyd deliberated a minute before adding, "Thanks, Phaidra. Say, were you talking about the world regeneration journey just now?"

"Nope. We were talking about rabbits," I told him sarcastically. "Colette and I are going to need a lot of protection from the evil rabbits, since we're _staying here_ in Iselia. Sheesh, Lloyd, use your head! Of course we were!"

"Ouch," he commented. "But on that subject, I want to go, too."

"And if Raine goes, I go," Genis said flatly.

Kratos shook his head before anyone else could say anything. "No. You'll get in the way."

"Wh...what?" Lloyd stuttered.

"The battles at the chapel were nothing compared to the journey that awaits us," Kratos explained patiently. "Children need to stay home."

The Mayor agreed. "Kratos is absolutely right. Now, then, we still have things to discuss." We did? I'd thought we'd covered everything. "You two should go on home."

Sighing, the two troublemakers walked back out the door. Colette jumped to her feet and raced after them, calling, "Please wait!"

I sat there for a few more minutes, then, when she did not return, I got to my own feet and followed. I still needed to ask Lloyd about the Key Crest.

"I'm the Chosen, remember? I'll be fine," Colette was saying.

Genis caught sight of me. "Oh, Chance! You wanted to talk to Lloyd, right?"

"Yeah, I just remembered," I said, taking the three wood steps in a single leap. "As to that... okay. Lloyd, do Key Crests ever crack, to your knowledge?"

"Huh?" He tipped his head. "Not that I know of."

I ran my fingers over my Key Crest until I found the crack. "Explain this."

He stepped closer, looking at the Key Crest. "Whoa... that's strange. I'll ask Dad about that."

"Thanks," I said, and meant it. "Sorry about Kratos. He's a right pain in the ass, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, no, I had," Lloyd reassured me.

I took a few steps back, turned, and rejoined Colette. "So, I'll see you later, then!" Colette said cheerfully and went back into the house.

I blinked. "Uh, what'd I miss?"

Lloyd and Genis were already going away, probably to Genis' house. "Be that way," I hmphed, and followed Colette back in.

We never really celebrated Colette's birthday, save by the serving of a large, chocolate cake. Phaidra brought it out of the kitchen, looking very proud of herself; it washuge, much, much bigger than normal. Probably 'cause Colette was going away.

So was I, I reminded myself, almost forcibly.

The Mayor, who was allergic to chocolate, beat a hasty retreat. I snickered under my breath, then groaned as I realized that Kratos was still there. Did he have nowhere else to go?

I spent most of the rest of the day in my room, staying away from the mercenary. Late, about twilight time, Colette stuck her head in the door. "Chance, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hm?" I put the book I was reading down and patted the empty space beside me, on the bed. "Sure, c'mere."

She came in, a little hesitantly; I was usually very protective of my space. At my repeated urging, she sat beside me. "Um, I'm going to Lloyd's house," she began.

"Why?" I asked curiously. "And why tell me?"

"Well, I promised I'd tell him when we were leaving," she said. "And I want you to come with me, 'cause Iselia Forest's got monsters in it."

"Oh, okay then!" I agreed. "I'd be happy to. We're leaving at eight, right?"

"Yes." She nodded, reinforcing her agreement. "But... um... I, uh, I, er, I want to tell Lloyd the wrong time."

"Huh? What for?"

Colette turned an interesting shade of pink. "Um, well, it's going to be dangerous. The seals are protected, and there's going to be monsters, and Desians, and, well, I don't want him to get hurt. And plus... well... you know what becoming an angel entails."

"Erk." I'd forgotten. "Ah, crap." I had a more philosophical outlook on it than most people, but I still wasn't all too keen on the idea of dying. Okay, so it was to regenerate the world, but... back to the Lloyd thing. "Yeah. Anyway. About Lloyd. He's pretty good with his swords. I mean, I know you have a crush on him and all, but he can take care of himself."

Colette got even redder. "I do not have a crush on him!" Her face was now a bright crimson. Her voice got really, really quiet. "I, um, just l-l-like him. As a friend."

I was silent for a minute, thinking. "He's not going to be happy when he finds out you lied to him."

"Better that than that he die along the way," she countered. "I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to him."

I sighed. "Okay. Have it your way. Noon sound okay?"

"Thank you, Chance," she said, throwing her arms around my neck. "I'd hoped you'd understand."

I freed my neck from her stranglehold. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Just go on downstairs, and remember your chakrams. I have to get my stuff together."

"Okay!" She jumped up and went back out the door, leaving it open. Everyone always did it, and it drove me nutty. Bonkers. Insane. I think you get the picture.

_So that's chapter 2. I might be able to get another, shorter chapter up tomorrow. Sorry it's moving so slow and all. _

__

Oh, and yes, there are TWO Sorcerer's Rings. I did that because the group splits up way later, and I like my continuity.

_Um, I'm going to Italy. For ten days. I'm leaving Wednesday, and my computer access is going to be nonexistent. I will update just as soon as I get back, though._


	3. Time

**Well, it's time for another instalment of Twisted Angel. Hope I didn't do too badly. **

**RoyalFanatic:** -cough- Yeah. That. Um, well. I'm not sure about the plural thing. I'll deal with it. -- And as to the Kratos thing… hn. Sorry about that. I will say that there might be a very tenuous connection between them. I'll say this now: Chance is not related to any of the Four Seraphim. By blood.

**Silvie-chan: **Thanks for the long review, I'm working on everything. Sorry if I made you late for school. (-:

**As before, TOS isn't mine. –sigh– Chance is, though, and I might have a word with her about beating Namco up with her Doomsday.**

**-**Chance appears.- Ebony, you idiot. –Chance disappears-

**What'd I do?**

Chapter 3: Time

Sighing, I got up and shut the door. It's an obsessive thing, I guess. I contemplated just staying there, but I'd as much as told Colette I was going with her. So, on went the quiver and arm-guards; the bow went over my shoulder, and I went down the stairs.

Colette, Raine, Genis, and Kratos were waiting outside the house. "Why are you coming?" I asked Kratos.

He muttered something about 'protecting the Chosens.' Ah. His job technically started as soon as the negotiations were concluded, so... yeah.

Colette was already walking towards the gates, Raine and Genis behind her. With a little yelp, I raced to catch up. "Don't leave me!" I squeaked, slowing to a near-complete halt before actually matching their pace.

My sister gave me a strange look. "Relax, Chance," she said. "We're not leaving you."

"Oh good." I cast a dirty look over my shoulder at the close-mouthed mercenary, who was, Martel forbid, actually smiling. Well, I'm glad I can amuse some people.

"So, Genis, did Raine hurt you too badly?" I asked, just for something to talk about. He looked at me blankly, and I elaborated. "For not staying and studying."

He sighed. "Yes."

I shook my head in mock disapproval, and shifted my position so I could walk beside Raine. "Raine, you're so cruel to your little brother. How could you hurt him so?"

She gave me a 'you-stay-out-of-this' look, but when I didn't seem to get the hint, she said sweetly, "As I recollect, I told you to stay and study as well."

"Erk." I hadn't thought of that. "But Colette didn't stay and study, either! And the priests didn't come for her. Us. Whatever."

"Regardless..." She smiled at me. I was probably as white as a ghost.

"Uh, never mind, Raine. You know, I'm sure Genis totally deserves whatever you do to him, and it's really none of my business..." I trailed off as I noticed the dirty look I was getting from Genis. Can't please both of 'em, I guess.

At that point I just shut up. Things were getting out of hand.

I might have tried talking to Kratos, to see if I could make him angry, but by that time, we were just outside Lloyd's house. It's not that long a walk... if you don't make any detours.

There was a light lit on the first floor, but none on the second. I assumed Lloyd was talking with his adopted father, Dirk. Dirk is a dwarf, a skilled craftsman; as far as I'm aware, he's second to none. He found Lloyd's mother in the Iselia forest several years back, barely conscious. She told him about the infant, and their circumstances, and then died.

My thoughts of Lloyd's mother were accompanied by the usual eye-flick towards her grave. Dirk had buried the woman next to his house. Lloyd could often be found there, just thinking.

Inside the house, voices were raised. My attention snapped back to the house as Lloyd came shooting out of the front door. His angry gaze took us in, and I watched the anger drain out of him. "Oh... you heard that, huh?"

Nobody really wanted to say anything, so I helpfully supplied, "It was pretty hard to miss. But, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't hear any individual words."

"Thanks, Chance, I think," he said, uncertainly.

"I'm sorry," Genis said. I looked at him oddly; what was he apologizing for? "Because of me, you--"

Lloyd cut him off, rather hurriedly, it seemed to me. "It's okay, it's not your fault."

I shoved Colette forward, not ungently. "Lloyd, you need to go talk to Colette, 'kay? We'll wait here."

She turned to look at me, pink again. I just smiled and pushed her forward.

"Ah, sure, I guess." Lloyd agreed hesitantly. "Oh, yeah, Chance, if you have time, Dad wanted to look at that Key Crest."

"Okay!" I replied cheerfully, and walked into his house. He and Colette followed, but they went up the stairs to his room. I stayed downstairs.

Dirk was busy with something. I coughed slightly, and he turned, putting down whatever it was. "Ah, Chance."

"Hi, Dirk." I managed a little wave. "Lloyd said you wanted to look at my Key Crest?"

"Yes, that's right." Dirk came over. "He said it's cracked?"

"Yup." I found the crack again, kept my fingernail on it. "Right there."

The dwarf peered at the Key Crest, moving my finger out of the way. "This is very strange," he said finally. "Key Crests don't crack, as a rule. If they did, the people using them would sicken and die."

"Right, the Exspheres have a bad effect on humans," I agreed. "So I'm thinking, maybe it's because this one's a Cruxis Crystal?"

"It's a what?" Dirk was clearly startled.

I sighed again. Apparently Lloyd had forgotten to tell his father. "Something happened in the temple today. Apparently this is really a Cruxis Crystal, and I'm supposed to save the world with Colette."

"It's possible, I suppose," he said absently. "I know almost nothing about the Cruxis Crystal-- or, I should say, Crystals. It's very probable that the excessive power radiating from it caused the Key Crest to eventually crack."

"Should I be worried about this?" I inquired. "Mine seems to have had the same effect as an Exsphere so far... if the Key Crest breaks..."

"I honestly don't know whether to be worried about this or not," Dirk told me frankly. "But I say it's better to err on the side of caution. I could make an accessory of inhibitor ore with the necessary charms carved into it, I suppose, for you to hold on to in case the worst happens."

"But when?" was my concern. "We're leaving at ei-- noon tomorrow." Ah, this was going to be a problem, wasn't it? "Could you have it done by, say, six? In the morning?"

"I suppose..." Dirk scratched his head. "Why so early?"

"Ah-" I didn't have an excuse. "Ehm, ah, we're trying to leave Lloyd here," I said finally. "Colette doesn't want him getting hurt, and I have to say I agree with her. It's going to be a long and dangerous journey."

"Ah." He nodded. "Well, I can't say he won't follow you, but..."

"Thank you, Dirk." I fought a gigantic urge to hug him, and instead clasped my hands together in front of me. "There is a matter of your payment--"

He waved one hand at me. "None. 'Tis for a friend."

"You're sure about that?" At his nod, I bowed slightly. "Thank you again."

There was little more to say after that. Dirk returned to his work, and I just slipped out the door.

Raine passed me on the way out. "We need to go," she explained, at my questioning look.

"Oh, right then." I wondered what the journey itself would be like: just me, her, Colette, and Kratos, wandering all over the world to release all the seals and finally go to the Tower of Salvation.

It was going to be a long journey. For an instant, the overwhelming weight of the task Colette and I were undertaking threatened to crash down on me. The fate of the world was resting on the shoulders of two teenage girls.

Was I the only one slightly unnerved by that?

* * *

In the morning, the sunlight shining through the window awoke me from a blessedly dreamless sleep. I stood at the window for a few minutes, appreciating the warmth of the light, before getting dressed.

Into a small black satchel, I threw an extra two outfits, several extra bowstrings, what spare Gald I had, and a few Apple and Orange Gels. It was all I could fit, so I figured I might as well stuff it. If I left empty space, what was the point of having the empty space to begin with?

Once I was done chasing myself in circles with my strange logic, I eyed my arm-guards speculatively. A full day with the chafing of the straps was probably not going to be the most fun thing in the world. Still...

I did need them. Making a face at them, I strapped them onto my arms. I'd probably get used to wearing them eventually. Same with the quiver, though it was less of an annoyance than the guards.

Carrying my bow and the satchel, I went out of my room and down the stairs. No one else was up yet, surprisingly. I put my satchel by the front door, leaning my bow against the wall beside it, and went to make breakfast.

The delicious odor of bacon frying woke people. Soon enough, Kratos came down the stairs, looking exactly like he had yesterday. I'd forgotten that the mercenary was staying with us; I added some more bacon to the pan and left it at that.

Breakfast was... breakfast. There wasn't really much else to say about it. Some people make a huge deal out of breakfast, but to me it's just a meal. I don't really focus on it that much.

At least no one saw fit to comment on my cooking. It's mediocre: not as bad as Raine's, but not as good as Genis'. There, I've just described the cooking of just about everyone in Sylvarant. It's true, though; my cooking skills fall almost directly between the two of theirs.

And by the time we were done with breakfast, it was time to leave. There was much hugging and tearful farewells between Colette, Frank, Phaidra, and, yes, even me. Tears still glistened in the corners of my eyes as I slung satchel and bow over my shoulder and walked out the door, resolutely not looking back.

We met Raine by the schoolhouse. There was no huge congregation of people, gathered to wish us well; I glimpsed Genis' face disappearing from the schoolhouse window. He wasn't all too pleased about being left behind.

Seconds later, though, the short elf did come out of the school. This was a good thing; I'd have hated to leave without bidding him farewell. There were more hugs, and a "No crying, runt," from me, and we were on our way. No fanfare, no bands, no nothing. Four people setting out from a small town.

Nothing good ever comes from looking back, so, well, I didn't. Simple as that. I didn't glance back to see the town where I'd spent my life fading into the distance...

Shut up, Chance, I told myself fiercely. Stop focusing on it. That won't get you anywhere except some monster's belly.

Speaking of monsters...

I ducked as a gigantic bee flew over my head. In a flash, my bow was off my shoulder, and I had an arrow to it. I was tracking the movement of the bee, was about to loose when a long sword leapt out of nowhere and slashed it in half. The two pieces of the bee fluttered to the ground, and I glared at Kratos. I didn't try to hit him, which was what I was longing to do.

I did, however, drop the bee hovering just above his head. I allowed myself a small and smug smile as he eyed the second bee corpse lying at his feet.

Then, of course, Raine whacked the Minicoid between us -- that neither of us had noticed, I might add -- with her staff. It meeped feebly, but didn't die, instead producing a feeble spore cloud.

Both Kratos and I took exception to this. Minicoids make great pincushions for a sword and an arrow.

From the space where the monster had been, I took a small mushroom. "Hmm. Mushrooms for dinner tonight if we find any more of these." I tucked it into a pocket and promptly forgot about it. "Say, Kratos, was that you or me who killed the last one?"

"You're a bloodthirsty little thing, aren't you?" Kratos asked rhetorically, sheathing his sword and turning away.

Though I knew he wanted no answer, I gave him one anyway. "Not really. But getting rid of the little monsters – we're doing a service to travelers, and these things don't hurt us much anyway. The bigger monsters might be more fun."

"I hope you feel that way when we're attacked by Desians, and, possibly, human brigands," the mercenary retorted.

Ooh… was I getting on poor Kratos' nerves? But he had a point. Back at the temple, Lloyd and I had killed those two Desians, and it hadn't bothered me. Why, I couldn't say; thinking about it now, I felt more than a little strange about it. Horrified, almost, but that was a bit strong of a word. I wondered if that same impartiality would come back to help me if we had to fight again.

We kept moving. About ten minutes later, something occurred to me, and I felt like bashing my head into the wall. Since there was no wall to bash into, I settled for slapping my head with the palm of my hand.

Colette gave me a funny look. "Chance, what…?"

"Sorry," I said. "I was supposed to drop by Dirk's this morning, though, and I totally forgot. I can only imagine what he must be thinking…." I fell silent, thinking myself. The dwarf was a very good-natured kind of person. I had the sinking feeling that Lloyd was going to follow us, so maybe Dirk would send the Key Crest with him?

I shook my head firmly. 'You're grasping at shadows, Chance,' I told myself silently, scolding. 'Lord Remiel, an angel of judgment, has come down from heaven and given not only Colette, but you, as well, the chance to join him in heaven as angels, saving the dying world of Sylvarant, and all you can do is worry. It's a Cruxis Crystal you have on you, not an Exsphere. If the Key Crest does break, you won't get sick, and perhaps it will be for the best, allowing the Crystal to unleash its full power. The angels have everything planned for. You will succeed, and regenerate the world, and everything will be just fine.'

And with that, I put such thoughts behind me.

We were attacked several more times during the course of the day by 'small fry' monsters, nothing too serious. By the time we sighted the House of Salvation on the horizon, though, I was exhausted. Alone, the monsters were fine. Together, the strain added up, little by little. I wasn't used to traveling, either, and I was positive all the muscles in my legs were going to be cramped up come morning.

We came into the courtyard perhaps a few minutes before midnight. I was ready to collapse by then, and Colette, standing next to me while the adults talked with the priests who ran the House, was practically asleep on my shoulder. I had to drag her up the twisting stairs and set her down on one of the small beds. I wasn't long in falling into the one beside her.

* * *

Morning came. I was woken by Colette shaking me. I would have said something, but she placed a finger against her lips, then pointed to Kratos and Raine, who were both asleep still. A mischievous twinkle was evident in her blue eyes, and she motioned me to follow her. I threw off the blankets and did, wincing as I glanced down at myself. I'd slept in my clothes, not my favorite thing to do. But, as luck would have it, I'd forgotten a night-garment of any kind, and I wasn't about to sleep the way I normally do while traveling in such a close group. So, clothes it was. My weapons and bag were with everyone else's, in a small pile near the door; I let them lie.

My sister and I tiptoed down the stairs. I assessed myself as we did; I wasn't nearly as sore as I had expected to be. Maybe in a few days, I guessed.

The priests were already about their business, and we greeted them cheerfully and properly. I didn't think they knew we were the Chosens. Chosen. What is the plural of that word, anyhow? Chosen isn't generally a noun, and since there's never been more than one Chosen before… eck. I'd ask Raine. If I ever remembered.

There was a pretty brown dog by one of the fences outside the House of Salvation. Upon spotting him, Colette immediately dashed over. I did, too, albeit at a more leisurely pace. Colette had a thing about dogs. Since Phaidra was allergic to dogs, we'd never been able to have one, but she loved Noishe, that strange dog of Lloyd's, and fawned over every traveler's dog that came to Iselia.

While Colette petted the dog and told him how beautiful he was, I helped myself to a seat on the fence. It looked to be about two hours past sunrise, and I idly wondered when Kratos and Raine were going to wake up.

The earsplitting scream that echoed from the top of the House of Salvation answered my question. "Where are they!" Raine shrieked. I exchanged a startled glance with Colette, then flipped over the fence, attempting to derive some semblance of shelter from one of its narrow posts. Inside the House, I heard another, lower Raine scream, then several crashes and bangs, as of someone, or two someones, falling down a set of spiraling stairs. Colette's eyes went wide, and she joined me, peering out between the rough slats.

About three seconds later, a frantic, frazzled-looking Raine burst out the door, staff clutched tightly in her hand. She was looking panickedly around her, probably for us. I would have taken pity on the poor woman, but I would probably have gotten hit with the staff, so I decided to stay there.

Raine began to rush around the small courtyard, peering behind everything. "Chance, you think we ought to maybe…." Colette began.

I shook my head. "She'll whack us with something. Let's see if Kratos can calm her down."

Kratos wasn't long in following Raine out the door. He looked less frantic, but still had some degree of anxiety. I waved at him, and, scowling, he came over. "You—" he began, obviously intending a lecture.

"Save it, Kratos!" I said hurriedly. "Go stop Raine before she hurts somebody."

He glanced over at where the frenzied elf was interrogating a pilgrim and winced. "Yes, that would be advisable," he agreed, and walked quickly over to her. Colette and I slid back through the fence and watched as Raine tried to hit him over the head. He caught the staff, and muttered something at her in a low voice, pointing back toward us. At the sight of the two Brunel girls, Raine instantly relaxed.

She did, however, come over to us, yell, "What were you thinking!" and head back inside. Kratos had already gone in, apparently wanting to miss her yelling at us. Raine yells _loud_.

It took nearly another hour before we were all ready to depart. I was drumming my fingers on that same fence post for about the last fifteen minutes of that; I had never really been a patient person. Small periods of time, I could do. But this was ridiculous.

The grass lead to desert sand. By noon, all around us was dunes of sand, broken by the very occasional cactus. The first new monsters turned up, too, by dint of trying to throttle Raine. A Sidewinder, a kind of snake-monster-thing, had managed to drop out of the single cactus we'd passed onto her pack, and had wound itself around her throat. Me, I hated snakes. They were poisonous. And Kratos was busy looking the other way. So, it was up to Colette to take one of my daggers and slice the hideous reptile in half. She did it without complaint, discarding the two halves of Sidewinder in the sand.

And I was bored. We stopped for lunch, a few sandwiches that Colette made. I wasn't going to let Raine do any cooking, not if I could help it. I took a bite of my ham sandwich and looked up at the sky, a little to the right of the sun. Not for the first time that day, I doubted my wisdom in tending to wear black. "Raine, are you hot?" I asked, hoping to find a commiserator.

She shook her head. "I can't wait to get to Triet! There's said to be ancient ruins around there, from when Efreet destroyed the original city."

There would be no hope with Colette; she was wearing white, and happily munching on her food, not showing a care in the world. With great reluctance, I turned to Kratos.

Before I could ask him my question, he answered. "No. When one has been a mercenary as long as I have, one grows accustomed to all different kinds of environments."

I sighed, fanning myself with one hand in a wistful manner. Oh, please, let Triet be close by.

My plea wasn't answered. In fact, it took about six hours' worth of monsters, sun, heat, boredom, and annoying Kratos before we were finally within the walls of the oasis city. We had some time until sunset, so Mr. Mercenary-who-knows-it-all suggested we split up. That was fine with me, as he'd been getting on my case – and nerves – all the time we'd been within ten feet of each other.

"I'll get us rooms at the inn," he said, matter-of-factly. "Raine—"

"I'll ask people about the ruins!" she volunteered.

Before he could assign us some task, I looped my arm through Colette's and told him, "We'll go shopping. They have a very nice bazaar around here, I think. Weapons, armor, and so on. They might even have a customizer hanging around the place." Though I'd never actually met one, many of the mercenaries who passed through Iselia had spoken of the customizers scattered throughout various towns, who would improve weapons and armor for free. "We found a few things that might come in handy, so we'll just go do that now. Okay, see you!"

I didn't have to drag Colette; she went just as willingly as I did. Our first stop was the Traveler's Mate, where we bought a few Panacea Bottles. After a narrow brush with poisoning by a Sidewinder, I was very happy to have my hands on these.

The next store, I was delighted to find, was a customization shop! The kindly man running it gave us a brief rundown of his services and so on, and then offered to improve our weapons. I had managed to get my paws on a Beast Fang, at one time or another, and I gave it to Colette. She, in turn, gave that and her chakrams to the man, and got them back a few minutes later as Duel Rings, reinforced for stability. She tested the feel of them, then gave the man a brilliant smile.

I waved the man away when he offered to look at my bow. He didn't have any way to customize it – he'd already said so – and I was fine with it the way it was, for a while.

The next store down we just looked over, because the weapons there were almost perfect replicas of our own. I did note that the shopkeeper had a large bundle of arrows next to the 'Longbow'. They were even well-crafted.

We gave the armor store a miss, too. We already had what they had to offer. Sighing, I turned to go, then turned back. Colette wasn't coming. She was engaged in lively conversation with a young man beside one of the houses on the other side of the street. "Colette!" I called.

She started, stepped back, tripped over something, and fell through the wall.

For a moment I just stared at the Colette-shaped outline. Boy, that brought back memories, like spring cleaning at the school last year. The young man joined me in staring.

I moved first, though, dashing over and peering through. "Colette, you all right?" I asked, extending a hand down.

The clumsy Chosen took it, pulling herself to her feet. "I'm fine!" she said happily, stepping out. To the young man, she gave a little bow. "I'm very sorry about your house, sir."

He looked angry. "Sorry? You've put a hole in my wall! What am I supposed to do if a sandstorm comes, hey?"

She made a little squeaking sound. I knew she didn't want to pull rank, so that meant I was going to have to. Or, pull rank for her, since I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of broadcasting that I was a Chosen, too. "Sir, please forgive her," I put in. "We've come quite a ways, and the journey of regeneration is weighing heavily on her mind."

The young man blinked in surprise, his anger fading away. "Journey of— you mean—"

"Yes," I said gently. Colette blushed, a little. With another apology, she followed me as I left.

We'd barely gotten back to the inn and met up with Kratos when Raine dashed in excitedly. "We're in luck!" she said, as soon as she got close to the table where we were sitting, trying to eat dinner. "I met a nice woman, a fortune-teller by trade, who was able to tell me the location of the Triet Ruins!"

"That's… wonderful… Raine…." I managed to say, "but what about the Seal of Fire?"

She nodded happily. "I think it's at the Triet Ruins! The seals are thousands of years old, and what better place for the Seal of Fire in the old days but a grand city that lived under the influence of Efreet?"

"True," Kratos agreed. "So you think we should head there tomorrow?"

Raine gave him a 'is-the-sky-blue?' look. "Well, yes!"

I was still drinking my bowl of soup, but I raised one finger in an attempt to get across, 'Sounds good.' At the same time, Colette said, "We'll go there, then!" I pointed at her, dropped the hand, and went back to my soup.

After dinner, we got the room arrangements sorted out. Kratos had rented three out of the six rooms that the Mirage had to offer. For a minute I wondered about the three – couldn't he and Raine just have shared a room? – but Raine was probably against that, so I discarded the thought immediately. He was in one room, the one downstairs; Raine had the room next to the one I shared with Colette.

Like the day before, I was tired, but I forced myself to take a bath in the small tub full of steaming water that the inn's staff had brought up. Colette followed suit, and we climbed into bed. Me, being paranoid me, put a dagger on the bedside table and left my bow strung and in easy reach of both me and the quiver.

Sleep was long in coming.

_

* * *

Well. That was that. I'm actually almost done with chapter 4. -cough- I guess writing fragments does help out, from time to time. Anyway. As always, please tell me what you think. I'm getting Chance into lots of trouble next chapter, so that should be fun._

_Estimated update time: Thursday? Friday? Somewhere in there. I think I need to spend more time on my homework. -shifty eyes- I don't have much this quarter, though, so that's good._

_-EbonyShadows_


	4. Adanos

_And we're back, with another exciting chapter of Twisted Angel. Introducing a new character this round, and new problems for everyone to deal with._

_Making everybody's lives interesting is so much fun! _

_Oh, yes, yes. _**I don't own TOS, or Namco, or anything of that ilk. However much I might want to...**

_And thanks to RoyalFanatic, my constant reviewer. Whack Zelos for me! _

Chapter 4: Adanos

"Can't... sleep..." I muttered, tossing the blankets off and sitting up. There was a bit of a commotion outside the inn. Perhaps it was that that had woken me, but...

Well, I wasn't getting back to sleep any time soon. Grabbing my bow, quiver, and guards, I slipped out of the room I was sharing with Colette, strapping the guards on as I went down the stairs of the inn.

I went out the door, up the stairs, and stopped by the notice board. In the main square, two very familiar people were fighting three Desians: two with whips and one with a bow.

Oh, no. They followed us.

Lloyd was busy entangling his swords in one Desian's whip. Genis was whacking the other with his kendama; the two were leaving the bowman unoccupied. Probably not the best idea.

An arrow flew over Genis' head as he landed another blow with the bright red orb on his kendama. Three against two was hardly fair, so I decided to lend my friends a hand. Or an arrow. Whatever.

In a flash, the bowman was on the floor, three arrows sticking out of his chest. Lloyd had killed his in a similar manner, and was going to Genis' aid. It's hard to kill people with a blunt weapon.

They had things in hand. I slung my bow over my shoulder and went toward them, my long steps closing the distance between us easily.

Lloyd had probably known whose the arrow was, and what it heralded. As the last Desian collapsed, he was already turning toward me, a guilty expression on his face. My mouth opened to deliver a lecture of some sort, which was still putting itself together in my head, but Lloyd beat me to it. "Don't say it, Chance, I know I'm not supposed to be here."

I closed my mouth. Opened it. Closed it. Opened it... and talked. "If you're not supposed to be here, then why are you?" I snapped, trying for logic.

"Um." Lloyd started thinking hard, never a pretty sight.

"We can't go back," Genis said helpfully.

"And why the not?" I transferred my angry gaze to him, and he flinched. The angrier I am, the dirtier my mouth gets, sad to say. I start with other languages, and move into our own as I get more upset.

Genis knew this too, as did Lloyd. Several years of being around me had taught them to step carefully when I started swearing.

Genis picked his next words carefully. "It's a bit of a long story. But, um, the short version is that we were banished."

Maybe not such a good word choice. "**Banished**!" I half-shrieked. I remembered to keep it quiet at the last moment, out of respect for those sleeping. It was the middle of the night, after all.

"Yes, banished, Chance, keep your voice down!" Lloyd hissed. "We've also got the Desians after us. Me. Look." He pointed to the notice board, where a crude but recognizable picture of himself was on a piece of paper under the word, 'WANTED'.

"You're a wanted criminal? Oh, Raine's going to love that," I muttered.

"Oh, yes," Genis replied with feeling.

Footsteps, heavy and booted, sounded from the entrance of the desert city. I whirled, intending to give whoever it was a piece of my mind, but I was cut short by the two balls of light that cannoned into Lloyd and me.

I fell, rather ungracefully. I just had the presence of mind to not fall on my bow before unconsciousness claimed me.

------

I woke sprawled on a cement floor. It took me a while to remember what had happened. When I did, I groaned. The ball of light had hurt, dang it.

I rolled over, onto all fours, ignoring the pounding pain in my head. I stayed there for a moment, canvassing myself for any possible injuries. I didn't feel hurt; if I had been wounded, it was negligible. Weapons, however, were another matter. My kidnappers had seen fit to leave me my arm guards, and the ribbons around my neck and in my hair, but I had no bow, no arrows, and no daggers.

Voices from outside the cell -- for that's what it was, a cell, with barred door and all -- arrested my self-examination. I sat back on my knees and listened.

"If so, I feel sorry for that Lloyd kid," one person said. The two talking were probably guards.

"Yeah, he can't possibly escape execution!" the second jeered.

Execution?

"What about that girl they brought in with him?" the first asked.

Footsteps. Another voice interrupted. "She's not your concern. Lord Yuan has plans for the girl." Great. I'm planned for. Somehow, that just doesn't make me feel as loved as it should. I made a mental note of the name. Yuan.

"Anyway, Lord Botta's calling you," the third Desian went on. "I'll keep a watch over these two." Botta. Another name to remember. Any name with a 'Lord' in front of it was worth keeping track of. Besides, this one sounded familiar.

"Gotcha." Two sets of footsteps heading away.

I looked out of the bars on the door of my cell. Across the way, I could see Lloyd, awake and as confused-looking as I felt. He mouthed something at me, and I tipped my head inquiringly. I couldn't read lips.

His shoulders slumped. Suddenly he perked up again. As the guard passed between our cells and turned to come back, something glinted on my friend's hand. The Sorcerer's Ring! I was suddenly very glad he hadn't given it back.

Fire shot out of the ring and slammed into the guard. He yelped and ran in the opposite direction... away from us! Yes!

"You okay, Chance?" was Lloyd's first question.

"Fine. You?" I asked. "And before you ask, I'm not quite angry with you any more. I'll have to save that for after we get out of here... wherever here is."

"Oh good." He let out a heavy breath. "I'm fine. And I think I can reach the door lock from here."

I watched as he moved to the side of the cell and stuck one hand through the bars, reaching for the button set into the wall. His fingers stretched out and brushed against the button, very lightly, but it was enough. The bars on his cell slid into the wall.

"Great. Get me out," I demanded. "I don't think I can reach."

"Right." He slipped out of the cell and ran across the hallway, triggering the mechanism on mine. The bars lifted away, and I happily came out of the cell.

"Thanks, Lloyd," I said. He waved one hand at me in a 'it-was-nothing' gesture. "So. I vote we get out of here."

"I wonder why," Lloyd said sarcastically.

"Hey. Sarcasm is my department," I told him. "So. First priority is to find where they put our equipment. We won't get far without weapons."

"Okay," he agreed.

We proceeded a few steps into the... ahh... what was it called? Where were we being kept?

Before I could think more over that, Lloyd pointed out something. "Hey, look, isn't that our stuff?"

I looked. Over in one corner, beside a desk of some sort, a pair of swords leaned against the wall beside a very familiar bow. "Yes!" I hissed, springing upon the weapons. I handed Lloyd his swords, which he sheathed, and looked around. No daggers. No quiver, either. How was I supposed to fight if I didn't have arrows?

Oh, that was going to be fun. I cast Lloyd a glance. I really didn't want to have to play the damsel in distress and have him rescue me from every guard that might come our way.

But it looked like I might have to.

With a sigh, I returned to the main path, carrying my bow. "No quiver," I reported. "Which means I'm going to have to rely on you. I can't fight if I don't have any weapons. In hindsight, perhaps I should have learned hand-to-hand fighting as well..."

"Maybe," he said, not unkindly. "Here, I have an idea." That was scary. "Take the Sorcerer's Ring. It might help you defend yourself, at least a little."

"Thanks, Lloyd." I extended my hand, and he dropped the silvery ring into it. I slid it onto my middle finger, smirking inwardly, and dropped my hand to my side. "Shall we go?"

We hadn't gotten much farther down the hall when two Desian guards spotted us. "Prison break!" one shouted.

"Oh crap," I replied. "Um... you didn't see us. We're not here."

They exchanged glances. "What are you talking about? Of course you're here!" the first said.

They charged. I meeped and hid behind Lloyd. I am helpless without a weapon. It's not even funny. I turn from a sharp-tongued, brave young woman to a cowering, scared little girl.

This is why I like my weapons.

Lloyd was a little hard-pressed, fending off two foot soldiers at once. Luckily, they didn't have whips or bows; both were wielding short swords.

He blocked one blow with one of his swords, stabbing at the other guard, who leapt back, out of the way. As he was coming back, Lloyd was able to briefly devote the tender attentions of both his blades to the nearer guard, marking him but not seriously wounding him.

Guard A came back, and Lloyd was again having to fence two-on-one, one of his swords for each of the Desians.

I hadn't before appreciated just how hard it is to fight while defending someone. Not only do you have to not get yourself killed, but you have to make sure nothing gets past you and to the person you're defending. More than once, Lloyd was forced not to take advantage of an opening in order to block a stroke from hitting me.

Eventually, several minutes and curses later, two dead Desians decorated the floor. This was a good thing. For us, at least. Definitely not for them.

Stepping around them, I continued down the hall. "Thanks, Lloyd," I said. "I'd have been so dead if I was alone."

"No problem," he said immediately. "Should we continue?"

"That's what I'm doing," I informed him. We came to the end of the hallway, and a door. It opened as we stepped close to it. I looked up, while Lloyd went through. What made it do that? How did it work?

A moment later, Lloyd dragged me through. The door slid shut behind us.

We approached the center of the new room. It had a large pit in the middle of it, with a glowy thing to one side, vaguely reminiscent of the place where we'd found the Sorcerer's Rings. I would have examined it closer, but Lloyd heard something. "Get down!" he hissed, and tackled me into the pit.

Luckily, it was pretty shallow, though the edge was sharp. I was ready to whack him when the door at the other side of the room opened. A pair of Desians came in, looked around, and then made to go back in, but the door was locked. They made a great show of electrifying the little machines that ran around the room and placing them on two pads before leaving. That must be the door lock mechanism.

I clambered out of the hole. "I appreciate the gesture, Lloyd, but could you not tackle me next time?" I requested.

"I didn't exactly have a choice," he responded, perhaps a touch snappishly. "It's not like there was time to explain."

"True," I admitted. "But still..." Putting that aside, I went to examine the glowy thing. I had absolutely no idea what purpose it served. Curiously, I put my right hand into it, and pulled it back a second later. A strange shock had run down my arm from the Sorcerer's Ring. "Um, Lloyd, is it supposed to do that?" I asked nervously. The gem was now a bright electric blue. I waved it, and a ball of electricity shot out. "I didn't know it did that."

He shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. You want Genis or the Professor for that."

"We don't exactly have either of them," I pointed out. "But I think I just figured out how to get to the next room. You know those little things running around in here?" I pointed out the two cream-colored things, busily whirring around the room. "I need you to catch them, one at a time, and hold them down over those two blue pads." I pointed those out, too.

"Sounds easy enough," Lloyd replied, and, without further ado, threw himself atop the nearest one. It started making funny noises, squirming to get free as he dragged it over to the closer of the two blue pads. He held it there while I adjusted my aim.

"Okay..." I fired the ring at the thingy, shouting, "Let go!" He started back, and the little thing was struck by the ball of electricity. Blue crackled over it, and it floated in place, over the pad.

"Again," I directed. Lloyd rolled his eyes, but obeyed my direction. Soon enough, there were two little thingies floating on their pads, and Lloyd and I were through the door.

This hallway was surprisingly empty. Nevertheless, I tiptoed. Lloyd just clomped along beside me, negating any attempt at stealth I was making, but maybe there was no one listening. Maybe I would get lucky.

We actually made it to the end of that hallway without being spotted. I breathed a sigh of relief as we slipped inside the next room.

This one had a strange machine in the center of it, and two doors leading out, not counting the one we'd entered through.

"So. Banished, huh?" I said, almost idly, as I poked various things in the room, hoping to find an instruction manual for the machine.

He gulped audibly. "Eh, it's a bit of a long story."

"How long do you think we have here, genius-boy?" I asked, strolling over to a black-topped pedestal set into the ground. Oh, hey, instructions!

I listened with half an ear as Lloyd startled babbling something about 'not very long, they might catch up with us,' and resolved that if he said something useful, I'd pay attention. In the mean time, though, I'd read the instructions.

'Cube Lock,' the heading read. 'This lock is configured for three doors. The electrical devices to operate the lock must be charged with some form of electricity in order to turn it. The different colors must be aligned to make the different doors open: red with red, green with green, and blue with blue.'

I looked back at the machine in the center. Sure enough, in the middle of it were three colored dots, placed in a circle; around the edge, on a different, raised circle, were three more dots, in different places. That might make sense. Lloyd had shut up by now, and I looked over at the devices on the wall. Three pillars, each marked with a different number. One was 180, one was 90, and the last was 45.

Angles, perhaps? And electrical energy... I looked at the Sorcerer's Ring. It was still blue. I studied the center device again, now, seeing what had to be done. Aligning the green ones would take a 90-degree rotation.

I stepped up to the so-marked pillar and fired the ring. The ball of electricity lit the pillar up, and the circle around the cube revolved. Lloyd jumped back. "Whoa, Chance, what did you do? It moved!"

"We have a winner," I sighed as the circle stopped and the dots aligned. A green light flicked on, and a mechanical voice chimed, "Door to control room opened."

"Well, let's go!" Lloyd said happily, and walked speedily toward the door. Adjusting the bow across my back, I followed.

The door slid open for us, and we stepped into another hallway. It branched to the left a bit farther along. We stood at that intersection for a bit, me looking straight, Lloyd looking left.

"Let's go straight," I decided after a few seconds. Then, of course, a Desian soldier pounded down that hallway.

"You two, halt!" he called.

Lloyd was already running. I wasted absolutely no time in following him through the first door on the right in the branching hallway. It slid shut behind us. I listened, heart pounding in my chest, as footsteps thundered by.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that was close."

"For once, you showed some sense, finding this door," I agreed. "Thanks for that. Dang it, I'm going to owe you after this, aren't I?"

He flashed me a smug grin. "Yes."

"Excuse me," a dry voice said from behind us, "but just who the hell are you?"

I froze, and shot Lloyd a venomous look. "Maybe I don't owe you, if you've just gotten us into more trouble," I warned him quietly as we both slowly turned around.

There were two people in the room. One, the standing one and presumably the one who had just spoken, had long, bright blue hair pulled back in a tail at the base of his neck. A dark blue cloak covered most of him... save for his extended hand, which had a ball of glowing light in front of the palm, undoubtedly magic of some kind.

The other one was a boy who looked to be about my age. He was kneeling on the floor at the far side of the room, by the wall, his right arm pressed against his chest. His shaggy white-blond hair hid his eyes, but his mouth was set in a tight-lipped grimace of pain.

Lloyd was speaking, and I decided it might be best if I listened. Maybe I could make sure he didn't put his foot in his mouth. "Give me your name, and I'll give you mine," he was saying.

I would have slapped myself if it wouldn't have undermined my image, what there was of it. Lloyd, could you not come up with something more original?

At the sound of another voice, the boy in the back looked up, catching my attention with his piercing green eyes. "Help me," he mouthed.

My decision was made. I was sworn to regenerate the dying world, and there was no way I was going to let people suffer when I could prevent it. Before the blue-haired man could say anything, I stepped in between them. "Okay, you two, enough male posturing. We all have the same questions."

The light ball faded. The threatening man and Lloyd both looked at me incredulously. "_Male posturing?_" they repeated, disbelievingly.

I swallowed hard, but I couldn't back down now. "Yeah. You don't really need to impress anyone. Besides, I can guess _your_ name." I focused the full brunt of an annoyed stare on the other man. "You're acting arrogant and self-important; you're in a richly furnished room; you can wield magic; and, to top it off, there's a frightened-looking human in the same room with you. You must be heading up this... facility. I've heard only two names that could possibly be attached to you: Lord Yuan or Lord Botta."

"How did you figure that out?" Lloyd wondered, looking at me, astonished. It was simple logical reasoning, but most of his reasoning revolved around battlefield tactics, and not logic.

The blue-haired man arched one fine eyebrow of a similar color. "Your reasoning is surprisingly sound," he admitted.

"Great. Which one is it?" I asked, pressing what little advantage I might possibly have.

Before he could say anything, though, the door slid open behind us, and there was the black-haired guy from the Temple, and I put things together. He'd been called Botta, so this guy must be Yuan.

"Never mind. Your name's Yuan." I smiled impishly at him. Lloyd grunted, while Yuan and Botta looked a little discomfited.

Botta was not to be distracted from what he had to say, though. "Lord, as you may have seen, the prisoners have escaped."

Yuan glanced between us, settled on Lloyd. "Ah... so you're Lloyd? Hmm... I see the resemblance." What the...? "Botta, do you know who this girl is?"

"She's the Chosen's sister," Botta said stiffly.

I sighed. "Okay, fine. My name is Eurydice. You seem to know everyone else's names." These people weren't getting to call me Chance.

"In any case, sir, the Chosen's party has entered the building, and they're headed this way," Botta continued.

Yuan's eyes lit up. "Let them come!" he ordered.

The heavyset Desian coughed. "Sir, Kratos is with them."

"Everything will be ruined if he sees me," Yuan muttered, half to himself. "Take care of them, Botta."

Without waiting for an answer, Yuan turned. The boy in the corner had been watching our exchange, tracking the conversation as words flew between us. Now, as Yuan came toward him, he cringed, ducking his head again. Yuan grabbed the boy by the collar of his ragged clothes, and started to drag him toward the other door in the room with more-than-human strength.

The fair-haired boy struggled against the man's grip. "Help!" he screamed.

"Lloyd!" I shrieked. "I have no weapons!"

Taking my point, Lloyd sprang forward, sword drawn. Yuan released his prisoner an instant before the razor-sharp blade would have removed his hand. I was sure he was going to attack Lloyd, but instead, he slipped through the other door and vanished. The boy crumpled to the floor. Apparently Yuan was sure Botta was going to take care of us.

I came over to Lloyd and unslung my bow, laying it on the ground as I knelt beside the boy. He needed a better name than that, but it would have to wait until he was well. "Lloyd, I hate to play damsel in distress too often, but I think you're going to have to defend me."

He unsheathed his other sword. "We'll be fine," he said, but his tone was unconvincing. "You heard the blue guy, Colette's on her way."

Botta produced a giant sword out of just about nowhere. "Prepare to die," he hissed.

"I'd rather not," I squeaked.

Then the door we'd come through slid open again. There were Kratos, Genis, and Colette. "Lloyd, you're okay!" Genis cried.

"Chance!" Colette put in. "You're both all right!"

"Yeah." I glanced between them and Botta. "Two orders of business: don't get killed and defeat this guy. Where's Raine?"

"She went to open an escape route," Kratos responded, already moving between Botta and his target. The others followed.

Botta smiled grimly. "I can take care of you all at once!" He attacked.

His Rock Breaker attack flew into Lloyd, and rocks rocketed over my head, leaving dents in the wall. I flinched, ducking a little in reflex as I looked at the boy. The noises of battle rang in my ears as I tried to get him to uncurl from his fetal position.

It was like trying to get a grub to uncurl. More than once, I had to duck as rocks flew over my head; at one point, sharp rocks jabbed up from the ground, scant centimeters from my behind. "Hey, watch it!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"Not my fault!" Lloyd yelled back.

"I don't care!" I shouted.

While I was yelling at the battlers, the spellcaster in particular, the boy had uncurled, a little. As I turned my eyes back to him, he stared at me through his veritable mane of whitish hair. This was an improvement. "Are you all right?" I asked, having to practically scream to make myself heard over the noise of spells, swords, and breaking rocks.

"Not quite," he answered, wincing. "My arm--"

"Got it. But can you walk, say, out of here?" I interrupted. Botta was wearing down, and if Raine made any mistakes with the Desian technology, we might have to run out of there very, very fast.

"Perhaps." He sounded doubtful. "With help, maybe."

"Okay." I looked back over my shoulder, watching the battle.

Kratos and Lloyd slammed Demon Fangs into Botta's sword at the same moment, and the blade broke off, shattering on the ground. He was left clutching a broken hilt. He looked from it to us, then dropped the hilt. "I underestimated your power," he muttered as he ran out.

That done, I figured we were in the clear. Colette ran over to me. "Chance, you're all right!" she exclaimed. "But... who's this?"

"I don't know," I replied calmly. "But I couldn't let one of the Desians drag him off to do who knows what to him, could I?"

She shook her head emphatically. "No, of course not!"

Raine came in, saw the sword, and walked over to it, plucking a blue gem out of it. "Hey, is this an Exsphere?"

"Good to see you, Raine," I said. "I don't know about that, ask Kratos or Lloyd. Did you get the escape route open?"

"Yes, who's this?"

The clash of swords was still ringing in my ears. I tapped one experimentally. "Everyone's going to ask me that. I don't know, like I said. But I wasn't going to let a Desian carry him off to do who knows what to him."

"Thank you," the boy put in. "I think I do owe you my life."

"Um, what did he want you for, anyway?" I inquired. As I waited for an answer, I moved around to his left side, wrapping an arm around his middle and draping his good arm over my shoulders. He staggered a bit as I pulled him to his feet, one leg buckling beneath him.

"It's a long story," he said, between gasps. "Ouch."

"Let's get out of here, back to the inn," Raine advised. "All can be explained there. I, for one, want to know more about Exspheres." She tucked the blue sphere into one of the pockets of her orange coat.

"Right," Lloyd agreed. "Chance, I'll take your bow."

"Thanks," I said, and was reminded of something. "Oh, yeah, Raine, I'm sorry, but that quiver's disappeared. I couldn't find it anywhere. Which means, from now on, I'm going to have to buy arrows in the towns we come across. There's no time for me to be asleep for a week."

"We'll deal with that later!" she warned, holding up a hand. "I'm fairly certain I got just the locks, but I might have managed to trip a trap, as well. We should get out of here."

Raine lead the way, followed by Genis, then Colette, then Lloyd, this last holding my bow and occasionally almost tripping over it. Kratos let the unnamed boy and me go ahead of him, bringing up the rear, apparently content with the slow, limping pace me and the boy managed to accomplish.

"What's your name?" the boy asked me as we were passing through the Cube Lock chamber.

"Huh? Oh, my name's Eurydice, but just about everybody calls me Chance." I gave him a winning smile. "What about you?"

"My name is Adanos."

_Okay then! Okay, a bit later than Friday, but close enough. There was a powerout, and I couldn't get it up when I wanted to. So oh well._

_I honestly have no clue when I'm going to put the next part up. I do need input, though. There are two possible things I could do with Adanos, and I can't decide between them._

_I'm not going to tell you, either… that'd spoil the surprise. The two options are A and B; if you review, please specify which letter you prefer, in your review._

_Thanks!_

_EbonyShadows_


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